eThekwini Blue Economy Week
Last week, the NEWF Community took to Durban’s beachfront to participate in the eThekwini Blue Economy Week where Pragna Parsotam-Kok (Co-Founder and Executive Director of NEWF) went live on air with Cape Talk and Radio 702 to talk about the NEWF Community and how our access work fits into the Blue Economy conversation.
What if you could have a conversation with one of the worlds most renowned ocean storytellers?
In 2021 NEWF hosted a first-of-its-kind dive lab with the aim of certifying 10 Indigenous African women as SCUBA Divemasters. The Decade Divemaster Storytellers Lab brought together 10 women with different backgrounds, African cultures and careers to participate in a 90 day residency in Sodwana Bay featuring in depth, professional pool and open water training by day, and compelling storytelling workshops and discussion at night. One of these talks featured renowned American photojournalist and film producer, Brian Skerry, who joined the cohort via Zoom to field questions about his career immersed in nature, capturing incredible photographs of species that have captivated the hearts of people all across the globe.
What does freediving have to do with Ocean Access?
With the largest Ocean Access Programme for African Scientists, Conservationists and Storytellers, NEWF labs create opportunities for freediving certifications too. Recently, a cohort of fellows added this discipline to their skillset, each calmly descending and ascending along a dropped buoy line in Sodwana Bay's inviting water to a qualifying depth of 10 metres, just one breath at a time.
What role does documenting the past play in bringing stories about the African experience to life?
It is often said that to build the future, we must look to the past. At the core of Diving with a Purpose, is just that - purpose-driven deep work (no pun intended) to contribute to a more complete history that tells the stories of their ancestors. In an long-anticipated exchange between NEWF and DWP, we had the opportunity to welcome these divers who are part of the African diaspora, home.
If we trusted our bodies, how far could we go?
From the ‘Brown Girls That SCUBA’ movement all the way through to ‘Black Mermaids’- African representation (throughout the diaspora) has been recolouring the recreational and professional dive industries. So, what happens when you’ve been diving just a little more for ten (10) years - would being called an athlete feel out-of-body? NEWF fellow Megan-Rose grapples with this very reality as we speak.